Jazz Rumored Interest in Trading for Tyler Herro: The Pros & Cons
It has been well documented over the past few days that the Utah Jazz are interested in acquiring Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro. With the interest starting to feel substantial, let’s weigh the pros and cons of adding the high-scoring combo guard.
Pros
Talent
Let’s start with how talented of a scorer Herro is. He has surpassed the 20-point-per-game mark in each of the past two years.
Stepping into a consistent starting role last year he was asked to do a lot of creation for the Heat, and he did a nice job. Herro’s best season came during the 2021-22 campaign when he had a legit case for making the All-Star team. That season resulted in him winning the Sixth Man of the Year award and helping Miami secure the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Price Tag
While we don’t know exactly what the asking price for Herro is, we can assume that it’s fairly cheap given the reporting around the Damian Lillard saga. Let’s say the price tag is two expiring contracts and the worst of Utah’s three 2025 picks; that’s a fairly cheap ask for someone who could come in and immediately make an impact, both short and long-term, with the team.
Add in that Herro is still just 23 years old with room to grow and the price seems a lot more palatable.
Appeal as a Trade Piece
It’s no secret that the Jazz have the assets to go big game hunting when the right player becomes available. When looking at recent star trades you have to be able to send talented young players along with picks to strike common ground.
I think the Jazz could bring Herro in, raise his value, and then reroute him if a trade presented itself. This perspective is all about asset management.
Cons
Contract
Nobody comes without their baggage. The main concern with Herro is his contract; Miami inked him to a four-year, $120 million contract extension that kicks in this year.
That might be a hard pill to swallow for a Jazz front office that has accumulated a good amount of flexibility with their cap sheet. There’s also a question of whether Herro is worth that contract or not.
Earlier I mentioned his offensive talent but he doesn’t bring much to the table on the other end of the court. He’ll have to make another leap as a player if he is going to justify what you’ll have to pay him.
Redundancy
Herro shares a lot of similarities with current Jazz guards Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, and Keyonte George. Adding Herro to this group would create a log jam of sorts and make it hard for Keyonte, who the Jazz are quite high on, to find the runway he needs to develop.
While I do think Will Hardy could make this work, it’s not ideal. Now the Jazz could move one of them but Clarkson specifically cannot be moved until closer to the trade deadline because of the contract extension he signed with the team this offseason.
Size
The Jazz team building philosophy focuses on having size at every position. At 6-foot-5, Herro fits that box if the Jazz view him as a lead guard. However, if they think he’s a two, the logic becomes flawed.
Herro’s wingspan came in at a less-than-ideal 6-foot-3 at the NBA Combine. Compare this to Ochai Agbaji who the Jazz view as their long-term No. 2 guard, measures in at 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan. While wingspan only means so much, it doesn’t inspire hope that Herro will be able to become a defensive disruptor at any point.
Bottom Line
While there is more to the story with Herro, these are the points that stuck out to me. I will say that I think Herro could be a really fun addition to the Jazz if the price is right.
Whether or not the Jazz push a trade through will depend heavily on what transpires with the Lillard sweepstakes but either way, I expect the smoke to only get thicker.
Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream
